In Response to Peter Foster's "Corporate Chainsaw Massacre"

There are always newspapers in the lunch room, and as usual I sifted through until something caught my eye. I'd recently seen Wall.E so when I saw his cute little picture on one of the banners of the front page of the National Post I decided to take a closer look. Now, imagine my surprise when the caption beside this adorable Pixar creation is "This 'evil corporation' theme has gone far enough". And, to top it all off, in big bold letters underneath read "Movie Pariahs". Here's the best part, here's where I really realized what was coming...the article is printed in the financial section.

My first thought is "this is ridiculous!" but, curiosity prevailed and I on FP 19 I find an article titled "Corporate Chainsaw Massacre" written by a Mr. Peter Foster. It's in the National Post, so I'm already prepared for a conservative article, and it's in the financial section of the national post, so I've also prepared myself for a pro industrial development, free trade loving, conservative article. However, I must admit, I was not prepared for the such an intensely negative article about the positive underlying themes of these films.

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=641331

I suggest a full read to comprehend the total hilarity of the article. I'm going to skim over his criticisms of Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood, You Don't Mess With The Zohan, and Hancock in order to focus on this issues with Wall.E and the concluding statements of his article.

To give you a taste of what is to follow, the quote underneath a picture Wall.E holding a rubik's cube reads "A scene from Wall.E, one of the three summer films that make corporations look feckless and villainous."

I chose to focus on his issues with Wall.E because apparently this film "paints the bleakest picture of the corporation." (And because I loved the movie) Among numerous other things, Peter Foster is offended by the the similarities of the fictional Buy'n'Large and the factual Wal-Mart, and the impression that the corporate CEO has presidential powers. The article oozes with sarcasm when he refers to the "prophecies of level-headed critics of capitalism from Karl Marx through Noam Chomsky to Naomi Klein." And he's a follower of what?, the logic and the level-headed founders and followers of wealth developing system based on infinite growth in a world of finite resources? But, I digress.

After a brief description of the basic story line he makes quick mention of the obese space tourists rediscovering their limbs, each other, and thus, their humanity. It's a nod to the growing obesity epidemic and the western world's addiction to the internet, instant messaging, cell phones and video conferencing.

So, let's recap...the scandalous and anti-North American themes in the movie is...your garbage adds up, big box culture is unsustainable, an environment removed from nature and activity creates obesity and human disconnect, and that capitalism has the potential to spin out of control. I'm confused as to how an educated man could have difficultly understanding why this kind of discourse is so important. Does he live in a world where countries are not experiencing serious waste disposal issues and aren't shipping it to poorer nations? Do the negative effects of big box stores on small communities not happen where he lives? When he looks out his car window does he not see addiction to technology and quick processed foods, lowered activity levels and obesity? Maybe the newspapers he reads don't talk about poverty and food shortages in some nations and the over consumption of others. I guess if I lived in that world too I wouldn't see examples of governments being unable to control the actions of national and international corporations.

I realize the visual images in Wall.E are exaggerated. But, let's face it, this day in age most people need to be hit over the head with a message in order to retain it. I found the over the top exaggerated images and themes to be necessary. Besides, it's not like this is the first time a film has been made with environmentally conscious themes. Does anyone remember Water World? Correct me if I'm wrong but did Water World not lead one to wonder about the extreme consequences of global warming?

The following paragraph is the real treat. I've saved his best for last. Peter Foster's concluding paragraph is as follows.

"If the world is facing a clear and present danger, it is that eco-hysteria and anti-corporate sentiment will lead the political class to impose the kind of draconian, wealth-destroying policies that they hypocritically preach but know will be destructive."

Eco-hysteria, wealthy destroying policies, hypocrites? Eco-hysteria is my favorite. Thank you Peter for that gem. First off, not all environmentalists are hypocrites, nor are they hysterical. They are merely loosing patience with the unwillingness of the majority of North Americans to comprehend the idea of finite resources. Don't get me wrong, I can understand his issue with some environmental policies. Clearly, making it difficult to extract oil from the Arctic ocean floor which will later be burned, compounding the issue that made the Arctic ice free in the first place, would be inconvenient for many wealthy investors. It's not hard to believe that individuals that became wealthy and powerful through current capitalism would be reluctant to change.

Drastic change is a requirement for the future.

I understand that the runaway train we've created cannot be stopped with ease, nor can it be stopped with out consequences. But eventually, the resources will become scarce. There is already talk of armed conflict over the ownership of the Arctic seabed.

This is all a simple case of conflicting logic. Capitalism, as it exists now, requires infinite growth. I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and say that infinite growth is impossible. There fore, adjustments must be made before the runaway train hits the brick wall at full speed. It seems the consequences would be lighter if an effort was made to slow it down. Perhaps then, it will hit the wall at a speed which only crumples a car or two, rather than leave the entire train in a flaming heap twisted metal and few survivors.

Wealth has existed in other systems, and will again. Besides, wealth is really just a cultural creation. What have we really created? We've created a system where a animated film about a robot, that projects political beliefs that conflict with the system that generates "wealth" in the western world, has upset a conservative financial writer so much, that he had to publish his concerns in the National Post.

If films like Wall.E encourage people to discuss even one of the admittedly over exaggerated themes, then maybe it really is a leftist, liberal, environmentalist success ;)